His new Lions’ offensive coordinator, Joe Lombardi, discovered after watching film of Stafford that he is “not an interception machine.”

Matthew Stafford (AP Photo)

At times, Stafford himself probably felt that he was. How could you not when you finish the year with 19 interceptions? Well, if you were to look at Eli Manning’s league-worst 27 interceptions, there could be some consolation. But still, there were times for sure that Stafford felt pretty awful.

But, he doesn’t need an overhaul, psychological examination or a replacement. It’s not as bad as it looked, Lombardi surmised. In fact, he said he was “encouraged” by what he saw.

“Every quarterback could tighten up some of his footwork issues, and Matthew has got such a talented arm that I think there are times where he’s making throws that you’d say, ‘Well, maybe you shouldn’t have thrown that because of the position of your feet’ or what not,” Lombardi said, according to NFL.com. “But look, I looked at every single one of his interceptions in depth, and not every single one was something Matthew did wrong.

“There are interceptions that happen because a receiver breaks his route off too early or (the ball) goes through the receivers’ hands, gets tipped at the line of scrimmage. … By no means am I saying that he’s the perfect quarterback, but like I said, he’s smart, he works hard and he’s talented.”

Still, there is his deplorable record against teams that finish with winning records. There are the mistakes. And there’s the whole not making it to the playoffs again thing. So while Stafford isn’t the lone problem, he’s the one, given the best chance, who could do the most to improve the team’s fortunes.

According to the Denver Post, the Lions are set to hire Broncos’ offensive assistant coach Jim Bob Cooter as quarterbacks coach. Cooter worked with new Detroit coach Jim Caldwell in Indianapolis from 2009-2011.

After years under Jim Schwartz, a defensive oriented coach, Stafford is soon to find himself with great offensive minds in Caldwell, Lombardi and Cooter.